SAN DIEGO -
Rachel Witz and
TJ Verosik each recorded goals and the Point Loma women's soccer team posted its sixth straight shutout in PacWest play to lead the Sea Lions to a 2-0 victory over Fresno Pacific on Senior Day. (Oct. 15)
PLNU went 6-0-1 on its three-week homestand to move improve to 8-2-3 on the season (6-1-1 PacWest) and move into a tie atop the PacWest standings with Azusa Pacific. The loss evened FPU's record at 5-5-1 (3-3-1 PacWest).
Witz scored the first goal of the match, and her second game-winning goal of the homestand, right before the half (43rd minute) on a perfect pass from
Ashlee Smith. Following a corner kick, FPU was unable to clear the ball and Verosik got PLNU back on the attack. Smith collected the ball on the left side of the field and sent it into the middle, top portion of the box to Witz who was open for the shot.
Witz, one of the four seniors for Point Loma, assisted on the next Sea Lion goal. Witz took the corner kick and found Verosik for another open shot in the box. It was Verosik's first career goal.
"That was a big win today," said an excited PLNU coach
Tim Hall right after the match. "Fresno Pacific is good and can beat anyone in the conference on any given day. They are scrappy, have some very talented players, they fight and go hard. It was a big win for us to finish off the homestand well."
The defense dominated during the homestand, allowing just one goal over the seven matches. With its sixth straight shutout, Point Loma has extended its shutout streak to 608 consecutive minutes.
Ariel Oriarte made five saves en route to earning her seventh shutout this season.
"The two goals were good, but I loved the shutout," said Hall. "Fresno Pacific is a team that can take you out of your system, but our girls adjusted well and they did what was needed to get that victory."
That win sent Oriarte, Witz,
Cori Deason and
Courtnie Marshall away victorious in their final match on the PLNU Soccer Field.
The Sea Lions will go on the road to close out its regular season with five more matches. Point Loma wil head to Hawaii for its next four matches (Oct. 22-29). PLNU will open at BYU-Hawaii on Saturday, Oct. 22.
"Hawaii is brutal," explained coach Hall. "We are going to talk about the four-game season in Hawaii and what we need to do in that next season. We will let them celebrate this weekend but on Monday we are going to get really serious about what we are going to do in Hawaii."
